Myxx to close by Oct. 1; new building owner plans improvements

Myxx at Cedar Fairmount. Photo by Richard Stewart.

Myxx, a restaurant and bar located at 12459 Cedar Road in the Cedar Fairmount Business District, will close Oct. 1. Cleveland Heights City Council declared the business a nuisance at its Aug. 6 meeting and filed a complaint with the Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court. Judge Daniel Gaul issued an order for Myxx to cease operations on or before Oct. 1.

JDI Realty, the Chicago-based company that purchased the building in July, had already given Myxx owners a 60-day notice of the termination of its lease.

“Judge Gaul did an excellent job of coming up with a solution that works,” said Mayor Kelley. “Both our goal, and the goal of Myxx, is to have law and order—and peace and quiet—return to Cedar Fairmount.” Kelley said that John Gibbon, city law director, and David Lynch, lawyer for Myxx, were meeting every Wednesday to ensure a smooth transition and that Cleveland Heights police were continuing to monitor the situation.

Cleveland Heights City Council had declared Myxx a hazard to the health and safety of the community because of criminal activities taking place at the business, including aggravated riot, assault, assault of a police officer, fights, underage drinking, public intoxication, open containers of alcohol, excessively loud music, disorderly conduct and public urination. Several incidents over the summer months required police response.

The city’s law department had sought a restraining order and injunction with Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court. On Sept. 12, Judge Daniel Gaul issued an order limiting Myxx’s operations and ordering its closing. The order specified that Myxx would cease operations on or by Oct. 1, 2012, that no more than 400 people could occupy the building at one time, that no one under the age of 21 could be admitted, and that its closing hours would be amended to midnight on Sundays, 1 a.m. on Thursdays and 1:30 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.

JDI Realty, a Chicago-based company that specializes in real estate turnarounds, purchased the building in which Myxx is located out of receivership from Myxx owner Kimberly Lisboa’s Cedar-Fairmount Realty in July. Joel Scheer, company representative, said that JDI plans several improvements to the property, including tuck-pointing, roof repair, landscaping, parking lot improvements and lighting. “We have several potential tenants who have shown interest,” said Scheer. “We most likely will divide the current Myxx space into smaller storefronts, depending on the needs of the new tenants.”

“The business owners of Cedar Fairmount Special Improvement District welcome new businesses, which will serve the neighborhood’s needs, and contribute to the safe, friendly environment at Cedar Fairmount,” said Kaye Lowe, executive director of Cedar Fairmount SID.